As US military fatalities in Afghanistan hit a new high in July, the
US Army issued a report exposing record suicides, drug use and other
signs of deep demoralization among its ranks after a decade of
colonial-style wars.

Another six US troops were killed in a
series of four separate attacks across southern Afghanistan on Thursday
and Friday, bringing the total death toll for the month to at least 66.
This follows the previous high set last month of 60. Both were at least
double the average number of fatalities for the first five months of
this year.

But even as the casualties in Afghanistan soar, the
number of suicides and other violent non-combat deaths among US Army
soldiers is rising even more steeply.

The report was commissioned after the rate of
suicides among active duty Army personnel rose higher than that of the
general population in 2008. While the civilian rate was 19.2 per 100,000
people that year, it was 20.2 per 100,000 for Army personnel.
Traditionally, the suicide rate in the Army has been considerably lower
than that in the general population, and the current rate is more than
triple that which existed in the Army prior to 2001.

In the last
fiscal year, the Army recorded 239 suicides among both active duty
soldiers and reservists. Out of these, 160 were active duty soldiers.
Meanwhile, another 146 active duty deaths were attributed to what the
report calls "high risk behavior". More than half of these
deaths--74--were caused by drug overdoses. The report notes that the
number of accidental deaths among soldiers has also tripled since 2001.

Together, suicides and so-called "high risk behavior" killed more soldiers during the year than combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.

During the same period, according to the report, there were 1,713 suicide attempts by Army soldiers.

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The
report does not deal with the suicide rate among veterans, which is
considerably worse than those still in the Army. A 2007 study estimated
the suicide rate among male veterans aged 20 to 24 at four times the
national average--more than 40 per 100,000 per year.

The report is
remarkably frank about the horrendous impact of the Army's involvement
for nearly nine years in the US colonial-style wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq.

In assessing the rising suicide, drug abuse and crime
figures, it refers to the "effects of working under an unprecedented
operational tempo for almost a decade."

"We now must face the
unintended consequences of leading an expeditionary Army that included
involuntary enlistment extensions, accelerated promotions, extended
deployment rotations, reduced dwell time and potentially diverted focus
from leading and caring for soldiers" who, the reports states, "have
been pushed to their breaking point."

The report states that
ideally soldiers should receive 36 months of "dwell time" --stationed at
their home base in the US--for every year of deployment to a combat zone.
It acknowledges, however, that the escalating war in Afghanistan and
the continued occupation of Iraq make such a rotation schedule
impossible in the foreseeable future. Currently, soldiers receive less
than two years at home for every year sent to war.

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"The force is becoming increasingly dependent on drugs"

Among
the more startling conclusions of the report is that the rising suicide
and accidental death rates are closely bound up with a growing use of
drugs, both prescribed and illegal. The drug epidemic has been fueled by
active duty soldiers dealing with pain, depression, Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder and other forms of mental anguish stemming, in many
cases, from their exposure to killing and violence in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

According to the report, fully one third of the
troops are taking at least one prescription drug, while 14 percent of
soldiers are using various types of powerful painkillers. The report
refers to growing use of "anti-depressants, amphetamines and narcotics."

It
states the following: "As we continue to wage war on several fronts,
data would suggest we are becoming more dependent on pharmaceuticals to
sustain the force. In fact, anecdotal information suggests that the
force is becoming increasingly dependent on both legal and illegal
drugs."

Bill Van Auken (born 1950) is a politician and activist for the Socialist Equality Party and was a presidential candidate in the U.S. election of 2004, announcing his candidacy on January 27, 2004. His running mate was Jim Lawrence. He came in 15th (more...)